Existing tip-ups generally consist of a base designed to straddle a hole drilled in ice for fishing, a vertical descending member secured to the base, a spool of fishing line secured to the vertical descending member so that the spool can turn freely when a fish strikes the fishing line dangling below. A spring-mounted flag is affixed to one end of the base so that the flag can be bent horizontally and placed under a device that causes the flag to snap into a vertical position when the spool turns, indicating a fish strike.
These traditional tip-ups are prone to a number of problems. The moving mechanical parts exposed to cold air can fail due to freezing. Specifically, the lubricating grease contained within the main spool shaft increases in viscosity as the temperature drops, causing difficulty in rotation of the spool and fish loss. Snow can drift over the top of a traditional tip-up so that the flag is prevented from snapping into a vertical position when a fish strikes. A gust of wind can cause the flag on a traditional tip-up to release, falsely suggesting that a fish has struck the line. The triggering of a traditional tip-up flag indicates only that the spool of fishing line has started to turn; there is no indication of whether, and how rapidly, the line continues to be drawn out by a fish.
Traditional tip-up flags are difficult to see in low-visibility conditions such as dawn, dusk, fog, and blowing snow. Traditional tip-up flags are, of course, impossible to see at night without the aid of a lighting tool such as flashlight. There are a number of tip-up-mounted lighting devices in the prior art that are designed to illuminate in conjunction with a triggered flag. But these lighting devices are still reliant on a mechanical triggering device, most commonly the spring-loaded flag itself.